Body under the deck case: man reported dead wife missing, court hears

Mark Russell

Zahara Rahimzadegan's body was found under decking. Photo: Victoria Police

Two days after he had strangled his wife with a cord and buried her in the backyard, father of two Nasir Ahmadi went to the police to report her missing, a court heard today.

Ahmadi, 47, later showed the victim's brother a copy of a receipt for a packet of Cheezels from his local supermarket which he said proved he was not at home when his wife, Zahara Rahimzadegan, 46, disappeared.

He told friends she had run off with a man she had been having an affair with.

Ahmadi has been charged with murdering his wife on December 16 last year at their home in Ashwood.

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Prosecutor Peter Rose, SC, told the Melbourne Magistrates Court today during a committal hearing that Ahmadi went to Glen Waverley police station on December 18 to report his wife missing.

Mr Rose said homicide detectives executed a search warrant on Ahmadi's home on January 13 and found his wife's body buried under a recently constructed deck in the backyard.

Ahmadi was interviewed by police and admitted killing his wife and burying her, the prosecutor said.

Mr Rose said Ahmadi confessed to placing a cord around her neck and strangling her until she stopped moving.

In a statement tendered to the court, Zahara's brother, Ali Rahimzadegan, said she had married Ahmadi in 1995 in Tehran when she was working as a translator at an international rug exhibition.

He said the family was against the marriage but they could not stop her from going ahead with it.

Nasir and Zahara later moved to Pakistan before arriving in Australia in 1999 as refugees.

They converted from Islam to Christianity and were well-known members of the Cornerstone church.

Ali, who arrived in Australia via Christmas Island as a refugee last year, said his sister had told a friend in Australia that Ahmadi would kill her one day.

The couple had had a difficult relationship and at one stage had separated for eight months.

Ali said Ahmadi had burnt his sister's thigh with a hot iron and threatened to run her over with a car.

He said Zahara told their sister, Mitra, that Ahmadi had killed his previous fiance "because of her betrayal".

Another witness, Nasrin Nassiri, told the court she was at Zahara's funeral on January 30 when her mother told her that Zahara had called her a week before she went missing to say she was scared of Nasir.

Ms Nassiri said Zahara told her mother that Ahmadi claimed he had suffocated his fiance back in Iran because she had been unfaithful to him and no one had found out that he did it.

Ms Nassiri said she called Ahmadi after Zahara disappeared and asked him where she was.

"I said to Nathan (Ahmadi) what is happening. Where is Mandy (Zahara)? I asked did he have any argument on that day? He said, 'No, we never had any problems. We never had any arguments."

Ms Nassiri said it was rubbish to claim Zahara had had a boyfriend.

CityLife Church pastor Terance Kircher told the court he went to see Ahmadi at the St Kilda Road police complex after he had allegedly confessed to killing Zahara.

‘‘I embraced Nathan (Ahmadi), I gave him a hug,’’ Mr Kircher said in his statement.

‘‘He was at this stage crying, but was also saying that it was all over and that there was a lot of pressure and stress released by being able to tell.

‘‘I took this to mean that he was relieved it was out in the open.

‘‘Nathan told me that he was going to tell the boys (the couple’s two sons) that he had killed Mandy (Zahara) himself and to make sure that they were looked after and that the three cars go to the boys and some cash that was at home.

‘‘Nathan never mentioned how he had killed Mandy and I never asked.’’

Mr Kircher said that after the boys, now aged 15 and 11, talked to their father they were very angry.

He said the oldest boy told him ‘‘he couldn’t believe that his mum was under the decking that he had stood on’’.

‘‘The boys had made reference to some movement in the house in the early hours of Saturday morning of the night that Mandy disappeared. They were then trying to put the pieces together ... they realised that Nathan was up but not aware of what he was doing.’’